Safety razors

ABSTRACT

A disposable safety razor head comprising a double-edged blade which is permanently secured in molded plastics material which extends over a part of each face of the blade, the plastics material applied to each face of the blade being shaped to form a guard for one of the cutting edges and a cap for the other cutting edge, and the head being adapted to be detachably and reversibly secured to a handle, with one cutting edge only of the blade accessible for use in each position of attachment.

ynited States Patent 72 I Inventor Norman Joseph Brown Maidenhead,England [21 Appl. No. 737,554

[22] Filed June 17, 1968 145] Patented Aug. 24, 1971 3] Assignee TheGillette Company Boston, Mass.

{32] Priority June 19, 1967 [33] Great Britain [54] SAFETY RAZORS1Claim,l1DrawingFigs.

52; user. 30/32 5n lnt.Cl .,...B26b2l/00 so FieldolSearch 30/3032,

l 56] Referenes Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l,923,439 8/1933 l-lukill2,820,287 1/1958 Hyatt .Q 30/85 3,274,683 9/1966 Sachs. 30/51 3,383,7645/1968 Sachs 30/32 FOREIGN PATENTS 434,174 8/1935 Great Britain 30/55Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Att0meys- Philip Colman, Oistein J.Bratlie and William M Anderson PATENTEUAus24|91| 3 s00 804 SHEET 1 [IF 4F al.

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SAFETY RAZORS In the usual types of safety razor the blade only isdiscarded after use, the remainder of the razor being kept for use withother blades. Safety razors are, however, known in which the blade ispermanently secured in molded plastics material shaped to leave thecutting edge of the blade exposed and to form a guard in front of thecutting edge and a cap behind the cutting edge. The head thus formed ispermanently or detachably secured to a handle and the complete head isdiscarded when the blade reaches the end of its useful life.

The present invention provides an improved form of such a disposablesafety razor head and is characterized by the facts thatthe blade is ofa kind having two opposite edges sharpened; the plastics materialapplied to each face of the blade is shaped to form a guard for one ofthe cutting edges and a cap for the other cutting edge, so that thecutting edges are exposed on opposite faces of the head; and that thehead is provided with means for detachably and reversibly securing it toa handle, one cutting edge only of the blade being accessible for use ineach position of attachment. Thus, instead of the user using the twocutting edges indiscriminately, as in conventional safety razorsemploying double-edged blades, he is enabled and encouraged to use oneedge only until it has become too blunt to use further and only then touse the other edge, this procedure being recommended for maximum bladelife.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description of particular embodiments of the invention,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one form of razor embodying the invention,the separated parts being shown in perspective;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the assembled razor;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the razor;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a second form of razor embodying theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the razor of FIG. 4 in assembled condition;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are detail, somewhat diagrammatic, views of parts of therazor of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a third form of disposable safety razorhead in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the head of FIG. 8 in assembledcondition and a cooperating handle in condition for receiving the head;

FIG. 10 is a part sectional side view showing the head and handle ofFIGS. 8 and 9 in fully assembled condition; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a fourth form of razor embodying theinvention.

In the razor illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the head comprises twoidentical moldings l of plastics material, disposed respectively aboveand below a double-edged safety razor blade 2 of well-known type. Eachof the moldings l is shaped adjacent one longitudinal edge 11 to providea guard adapted to engage the face ahead of one of the cutting edges 21of the blade and is shaped adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge 12 toprovide a cap adapted to follow the cutting edge over the face. One faceof each member 1 is formed with projections 13 and recesses 14, whilethe opposite face is formed with a transversely extending groove 15,having undercut, convergent sidewalls, adapted to make lockingengagement with a dovetail projection 31 on the upper end of a handle 3,which may be made of any suitable material.

The two members 1 are assembled to the blade reversed in positionrelative to one another, so that the projections 13 of each member areopposite the recesses 14 of the other member and the guard edge 11 ofeach member is adjacent the cap edge 12 of the other member. The blade 2is clamped between the two members 1 and is accurately located relativeto them by the projections 13, each cutting edge 21 of the bladeprojecting between the guard 1 1 of one member and the cap 12 of theother member. The two members 1, with the blade clamped between them,are secured together, so that the blade is secured permanently inposition. The razor head thus formed is mounted on the handle 3 bysliding the projection 31 into one of the recesses 15, to form theassembly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It will be observed that in thisassembled condition of the parts, only one of the cutting edges 21 isaccessible for use. When this edge has become too blunt to use further,the head can be disengaged from the handle, reversed in position andreengaged with the handle, using the second groove 15, so that the othercutting edge 21 is accessible for use.

The members 1 may be made of thermoplastic material and they can then besecured together by heat sealing, by ultrasonic welding or by solventwelding, or they may be formed with interengaging projectionsand-recesses which will snap into interlocking connection when pressedtogether. Alternatively the members 1 may be made of a thermosettingplastic and they may then be secured together by adhesive, or by solventwelding, or by a mechanical snap connection.

In the razor illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7, the disposable head againcomprises two identical moldings 16 of plastics material, which aresecured together with a double-edged blade 2 between them. The members16 have their longitudinal edge portions 11, 12 shaped to form guardsand caps and are provided with interengaging projections and recesses13, 14, all as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In thisconstruction, however, the groove 15 is omitted and each member 16 isformed with an aperture 17, approximately T-shaped in plan, the longerportions of the two apertures being in register with one another andwith the central slot in blade 2. The handle 3 in this comprises twoplastics moldings 32, 33 which are secured together around a lockingdevice. This device comprises a sheet metal body 34, two levers 35pivotally connected at 36 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) to the body, and anoperating member 37 sliding in the body. Projections 37a and 37b onmember 37 engage between the two levers, so that when member 37 is moveddown (FIG. 7), projection 37b turns the levers to bring their upper endstogether, and when it is moved up (FIG. 6), projection 37a moves theupper ends of the levers apart. When an assembled head 1, 2 is placed onthe top surface of the head (the locking device being in the FIG. 7position) the projecting upper ends of levers 35 enter the apertures 17,the end surfaces of which diverge inwardly, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.At the same time a tongue 38, projecting from the body 34, enters theshorter portion or stem of the aperture 16 in the lower member 16, thisarrangement preventing incorrect assembly with the head turned round inits own plane. Slide 37 is then moved to the FIG. 6 position, thuslocking the head in position. The projection 37a may be constituted by aleaf spring of inverted U-form so that it will maintain a lockingpressure on the levers 35.

In the construction shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the portions of the blade 22adjacent the cutting edges 21 are bent in opposite directions alonglines parallel to the cutting edges, so that the blade is of Z-shape. Ifthe blade is made of a suitable grade of stainless steel, such bendingcan be effected as a final manufacturing operation, after the blade hasbeen otherwise finished. As before, the blade is secured between twoidentical plastic moldings 18, having interfitting projections andrecesses l3, l4 and edge portions l1, l2 shaped to form a guard and acap for the blade edge, as previously described. The handle 3 for usewith this form of disposable head has at one end of its stem a hoodlikeportion 39, which presents internally a surface against which one faceof the disposable head can be engaged and clamped. Slidably mounted inthe handle under the control of a spring 40 is a jaw 41, adapted toengage the opposite face of the head and secure it against the clampingsurface provided by hood 39. It will be observed that the bending of theblade allows a considerable reduction in the overall width of the headwhen in position for shaving, which has the advantage of allowing moreclearance when shaving the more inaccessible parts of the face, such asunder the nose. It will also be observed that the hood 39 serves toenclose and v protect that cutting edge of the blade which is notaccessible f r ussii s -g ln" the construction 'sho wn in FIG. 11, thedisposable head is withdraw thepins from the holes'and allow the head tobe 7 changed. when the jaws are inthe position shown, the head can'berotated'about the axis formed-by the pinsand extend-,

I "ing'between and parallel to the cutting edges, so that either cuttingedge can be made accessible for shaving. The head is "heldgagainst'accidental rotation by the interengagement of suitably positionedprojections and recesses on the jaws and the head, the jaws beingsufficiently flexible to permit disen- I vgagement of thesepart whenrequired. 0

It will .be understood that many modifications notspecificallydescrib'edabove .can be'made within the scope of the in- I again generally similarto the heads shown in FIGS; 1 m3 and f- 4 to- 7, but the plasticmoldings 19 (instead of being formed a with a groove l5 or aperture 17)have their end faces formed with aligned holesfor rotatably receivingpins 42, carried by a 7 pair of jaws 43 forming part of the handle. Bymoving the stem 3'ofvthe handle longitudinally, the jaws can be movedapart to I a to exert outward pressure upon the aperture walls of bothof V v said members, whereby to connect said handle to said head, a

for use. g I

I claim: 1. A disposable blade and cap means for a second cutting edge)of said blade,- and a second molded plastic member shaped to form-guardmeans for said second cutting .edge .and cap means for said firstcutting edge, a blade-facing surface of each molded member beingprovided with lug and recess connecting means, the connecting means'ofsaid first member being lockingly engaged with the connecting means ofsaid second member to permanently join said members with said bladedisposed therebetween, said first member cap means being proximate tosaid second member guard means, said first member guard means beingproximate to said second member cap means, each of said members and saidbladebeing pro-.

vided with a central aperture extending completely therethrough, all ofsaid apertures being in alignment and an 5 expandable handle projection,said projection being expanded said head being thereby adapted to bedetachably and rever-- sibly secured to said handle,'with only one ofsaid cutting edges being accessible for usein eachpositionof attachment.

safety razor head comprising 'a first molded plastic member shaped tosupport a single double-edged razor blade thereom-saidfirst moldedplastic member being further shaped to form guard means for a firstcutting edge of said

1. A disposable safety razor head comprising a first molded plasticmember shaped to support a single double-edged razor blade thereon, saidfirst molded plastic member being further shaped to form guard means fora first cutting edge of said blade and cap means for a second cuttingedge of said blade, and a second molded plastic member shaped to formguard means for said second cutting edge and cap means for said firstcutting edge, a blade-facing surface of each molded member beingprovided with lug and recess connecting means, the connecting means ofsaid first member being lockingly engaged with the connecting means ofsaid second member to permanently join said members with said bladedisposed therebetween, said first member cap means being proximate tosaid second member guard means, said first member guard means beingproximate to said second member cap means, each of said members and saidblade being provided with a central aperture extending completelytherethrough, all of said apertures being in alignment and an Expandablehandle projection, said projection being expanded to exert outwardpressure upon the aperture walls of both of said members, whereby toconnect said handle to said head, said head being thereby adapted to bedetachably and reversibly secured to said handle, with only one of saidcutting edges being accessible for use in each position of attachment.